"The "poke" technically never went away, but Facebook is trying to make it a thing again. In a nod to Y2K nostalgia, Facebook announced a few updates to the poke button, according to TechCrunch, which spotted the announcement. A fixture in the early Facebook days, no one was ever quite clear on what a poke meant. It could be used for flirting, passive aggression, a friendly hello, or an awkward combination of the three."
"The poke button now features prominently on a user's profile page, so you can poke someone directly from there. It appears on the mobile app, but we didn't see the button on the desktop site. There's also a dedicated page to keep track of your pokes on facebook.com/pokes, where users can see who's poked them and find friends to poke. Facebook also has a helpful FAQ for the poke ignorant."
"The poke hub also tracks pokes between friends, which is reminiscent of the "streaks" feature on TikTok and Snapchat, which gamifies interactions on the apps by encouraging users to keep their daily streaks going. Snapchat got in trouble for streaks and other features that regulators said were designed to make the platform addictive, a concern for teens and their mental health."
Facebook reintroduced the poke feature with several interface changes and renewed visibility efforts. The poke button now appears prominently on user profile pages in the mobile app, while the desktop site lacked the visible button. A dedicated poke page at facebook.com/pokes lets users see who poked them and discover friends to poke. Facebook added an FAQ explaining poke usage. The poke hub tracks interactions between friends and resembles streak-style gamification found on TikTok and Snapchat. Regulators previously criticized streak features for potentially encouraging addictive behavior and raising mental-health concerns for teens.
Read at Mashable
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